First Grade Teacher Helps Students Learn Fundamental Concepts Through Meaningful Movement (Colorado)

Profile

Hygiene Elementary is a small K-5 public school serving 300 students in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado. St. Vrain Schools is the seventh-largest district in Colorado with 57 campuses and programs spread over 411 square miles.

Suzannah Evans is a blended technology leader and first grade teacher in Longmont, CO. She has more than 14 years of instructional experience and a Master's degree in physical education.

“With packed academic schedules, it is essential to use movement not only to enforce learning but also to give kids a much-needed break!”
– Suzannah Evans

Challenge

Research has shown the impacts of movement-based learning on academic performance and behavior, so when educators at St. Vrain Valley Schools were offered a pilot of Walkabouts, a platform that integrates movement with language arts, math, and reading content, they jumped right in.

Solution

Fully aware of the research and science behind moving while learning, Suzannah Evans discovered Walkabouts allowed her to incorporate physical activity into her first grade classroom routine without sacrificing instructional time. Evans enjoyed the ease of use and how, in just a few clicks, she could play a standards-based Walkabout to complement her existing lesson plans.

Additional Outcomes

Students in Evans’ classrooms have a renewed enthusiasm for learning when Walkabouts are used, approximately two times per week. The creation of each lesson takes less than a minute. Evans also utilizes printable worksheets called Walksheets to either extend the learning or reteach a concept. With easily accessible, standards-based material already created, Walkabouts also help her prepare for early finishers.